Mech Racing

01/13/2026

Dan Ard has been a great friend of ours for close to a decade now. Please consider donating to his GoFundMe as he recovers from a recent stroke.

Hi, I am Mike Schmuhl, the President of Midwest Legends Dirt Series. Our good friend… Mike Schmuhl needs your support for Racing Community Stands with Dan Ard

12/15/2025

This is where you will find us in 2026! My dad and I will be racing our legend cars and attempting to run the entire Midwest Legends Dirt Series schedule!

⭐️ 2026 just got good!!

The 2026 Midwest Legends Dirt Series schedule is here and you better be ready for more action than ever!!

33 Dates
5 New Tracks
3 States
1 Champion
Who will take home the crown!! 👑

More information on the schedule can be found below!!

https://www.myracepass.com/latest-news/article/184483/midwest-legends-dirt-series-release-2026-schedule

09/28/2025

Thunder Hill Speedway was a fun time. Located in Menomonie, WI it was 262 miles each way so definitely one of the longest drives of the year. The facility is a little primitive in some aspects but also modern in others. The track is a 1/6 mile that has been expanded from a flat kart track to a banked track that can host a wide variety of classes.

We arrived as the drivers meeting was taking place but we still had plenty of time to get ready as a staggering 11 classes were scheduled to compete. This ranged from rookie kart classes all the way up to midgets.

16 legend cars checked in for the night. The night started out with group qualifying. I timed in 9th and dad was 12th. 5th-12th were all separated by less than 0.2 seconds so it was a very competitive field. The track was very sandy and very slick which was something that we haven’t competed on in a while. We were satisfied with our times as this was our first time ever seeing the track and most other competitors had raced there on Friday or throughout the season.

We had some pretty calm heat races. I went from 5th to 4th in mine and focused on learning the track. Dad started 6th and finished 7th in his.

The feature was lined up straight up from the heat races finishes so that meant the fast cars were towards the front. Our main goal was to survive and have some fun. I started 7th and finished 8th. Dad started 14th and finished 11th. The track was very racey and drivers could use every inch of it. I tried some stuff early on that didn’t work very well but battled back to to secure a top 10. The only damage I sustained were both bumpers, some farm horns, and maybe a bent steering arm or wheel. Dad was able to have some good battles and move forward which is always a win in our book.

Thank you to the group at Rolling Thunder Legends Series for putting up some extra money for the longest haul and helping cover transponder rentals and discounted entry fees. If it wasn’t for that we would have been $300 in the hole from this race. It’s always great when series do whatever they can to help take care of their racers and it doesn’t go unnoticed. We are looking forward to visiting this track again next season!

Our next scheduled race is at Hawkeye Downs on Friday October 10th. We will be able to attend the MLDS race at Luxy Raceway on the 4th as Allison is getting married that day.

09/27/2025

It’s race day! We’re heading up to Thunder Hill Speedway to race with the Rolling Thunder Dirt Legends series. It’s a bit of a longer drive than usual (262 miles each way) so we’re hoping to make it in time for draw since dad had to work until noon 🤞

09/24/2025

Here is a great group photo of the 44 Midwest Legends Dirt Series drivers that checked in at Beaver Dam Raceway this past Friday night.

We’re still coming down from an amazing weekend at Beaver Dam Raceway!!

Take a look at the record breaking 44-drivers from Friday night!!

09/21/2025

Overall it was a good night. Dad had a good run going in the B-main and was solidly in a transfer spot when an oil fitting on the front of the motor came loose and ended his night. I went from 18th to 13th back to 15th on a hammer down track with no yellows. I should have made some more moves early and I should have grabbed more tear-offs as I couldn’t see the cushion very well.

I’ll post a reflection on Beaver Dam in a separate post. It’s hard to summarize the last 12 years of our lives in a simple race recap. Our next scheduled race is October 10th at Hawkeye Downs for the Dirt at the Downs event.

09/20/2025

On our way to Beaver Dam Raceway! Driving through Waukesha and I’m glad we didn’t waste time washing the cars. We can see sunshine ahead of us though. Racing starts at 6pm.

09/20/2025

Dad had a rough night. He got taken out in the heat race and the car was pretty much junked. Both frame horns were nearly completely torn off the car and the steering rack was dragging on the track. We somehow put it back together enough for him to go out and run from 10th to 3rd in the B-main. Top 2 transferred to the A so he just missed the last transfer spot.

I went from 9th to 4th in my heat to lock myself into the A-main. In the end it didn’t matter because rain claimed the rest of the night. We will hopefully try again tomorrow.

09/19/2025

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s RACEDAY!!

Two races remain in the points season and they take place this weekend!! Head out for a MASSIVE show at Beaver Dam Raceway this weekend and catch the action at the historic track one last time 🥲!!

Pits - 2:00pm
Grandstands - 4:00pm
Racing - 6:00pm

☁️ - As always, we will be in talks with the crew at BDR and let everyone know the game plan in the case of weather

09/14/2025

Tough night for us at 141. I qualified poorly because I ran up on the slower cars in front of me. Dad put down a pretty decent time. We both started 5th in our heats with the top 5 transferring to the A. In my heat I went from 5th to 4th. Dad missed the transfer spot and had to run the B. In the B we made some adjustments to his car and got it to rotate better. He was able to finish 2nd and transfer into the feature. By the time we ran our feature the track had some character to it so I spent the first few laps trying to pick off cars but not push it too hard. We had a caution early in the race and when we went back to green I noticed a bad vibration so I pulled off. Dad ran around where he was comfortable and went from 22nd to 18th.

Thank you to Tricia Sullivan for some extra money for the tough luck award. We’ll get everything town apart and figure out what is going on before the Friday and Saturday double header at Beaver Dam Raceway on the 19th and 20th.